Gaming Keyboards

[icedrake523]

I want a new keyboard for my computer since the one I have some buttons don't work and it didn't come with any software for it.

I was going to get this from Best Buy. It's cheap and simple.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex&#...686&skuId=8332397&st=dynex keyboard&cp=1&lp=1

However, I was curious if there are any good gaming keyboards out there. I have been playing PC games more often. I play League of Legends (DotA game) a lot and have a bunch of games on Steam.

I know gaming keyboards are expensive, so I'd prefer $50 or less.

 

[bk187]

What features are you looking for? (anti-ghosting, macro keys, etc)

 

[icedrake523]

Anti-ghosting and macros would be good. I'm really not that familiar with all the bells and whistles that they come with though.

 

[YodaEXE]

I've got a Logitech G510 and love it. I'm able to press a ridiculous amount of keys at the same time. I tried a few Microsoft keyboards and some off brand, and I wasn't able to crouch+walk forward+reload at the same time, which is my standard test. Never had an issue with Logitech keyboards though.

 

[LackeyZero]

I bought Microsoft's Sidewinder X4 for $30 during the Black Friday week from Newegg. The first one I got was defective though (e.g. the spacebar got stuck every couple of presses), so I did an exchange, which costed me an addition ~$8 to ship back to Newegg. But overall, it has very good reviews (i.e. I don't think anyone says anything about the symbols on the keys coming off). Unfortunately, it looks like only Amazon is selling it for ~$50.

 

[bk187]

Basically the main things I can think of that gaming keyboards tend to come with are anti-ghosting, macro keys, small LCD panel, backlighting, and special layouts.

Out of all of those only the anti-ghosting really matters to me as the 3 key limit is quite annoying (bothered me a lot more when I used to play WoW). Macro keys are generally off to the side of the keyboard and not easily hit during a critical moment so I never really found them to be that useful. Same goes for the LCD panel that the Logitech ones come with, it's nifty but isn't going to help me while I am actually playing. The backlighting was something I wanted mainly because I liked the way it looked rather than for any practical purpose. Custom layouts also didn't interest me because I found things like the Nostromo or Logitech G13 just too different after having been used to a regular QWERTY keyboard for so long.

For around 70 your options are probably a Razer Lycosa or Logitech G15. The Lycosa and G15 have limited anti-ghosting (up to 5-8 keys). At the 40-50 pricepoint I would say the Logitech G11 (older model so cheaper, could probably find it for 30-40) or the newer G110 (50-60) but I don't think either has even limited anti-ghosting, though I could be wrong. Since you're looking at under 50 I would try to find a G110 for that price if you could or a G11 if you can't.

In the end, if you're not too crazy about backlighting, macro keys, custom layouts, or multimedia keys then there is no reason to buy a sub 50 dollar gaming keyboard over just a regular keyboard, considering the two main things that a gaming keyboard could get you, anti-ghosting or an LCD screen, aren't available at that price.